Vol. 435 No. 10
107 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance the number of parliamentary questions for oral and written answer, respectively, tabled to his Department since the formation of the present Government; and the total cost of dealing with these questions.
In the period from the formation of the Government early this year to date, a total of 978 parliamentary questions have been tabled to the Minister for Finance in the Dáil. Of these, 691 were for written answer and 287 for oral answer.
As to the cost involved, I would refer you to my reply to a question by Deputy Jim McDaid on 13 February 1992 regarding the average cost of a parliamentary question. In that reply I referred to a survey of Government Departments in 1982 which revealed that the average cost of a parliamentary question was about £40. Taking into account the general level of inflation since 1982, the equivalent cost today would be in the region of £65.
